What happened to Lauren in Iraq?

Lauren Clay returns from a tour of duty in Iraq just in time for Christmas. As she reconnects with family and friends, it's clear something is wrong. But Lauren's father is so happy to have her home, he ignores the warning signs-her odd behavior and repeated phone calls from an Army psychologist. Things seem better when Lauren offers to take her younger brother Danny to visit their mother. Instead, she guides him into the Canadian woods to visit the Jeanne d'Arc basin, site of an oil field that has become her strange obsession. As they set up camp, Lauren believes she's teaching Danny survival skills for the day she can no longer take care of him. But where does she think she's going, and what happened to her to set her on this path?

Review Quotes

"Hoffman describes in visceral prose the disorientation, guilt, and shame of returning war vets. A page-turner that also offers impassioned social critique."-Booklist

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